So that whole thing about Park Shi-hoo making his drama comeback? Never mind! The news had only been out in the media a day before Park’s reps updated their statement by saying that he wouldn’t do Golden Cross after all, attributing it officially to a conflict with his schedule.

He does have promotional activity for a Chinese film, Scent, on the books, but given that Park Shi-hoo has been very pointedly not working since his scandal, I think we can read between the lines and figure that the involved parties were testing the waters for a drama comeback, saw that people were thinking, “Too soon, man, too soon,” and ditched the endeavor. Probably for the best, as I do think the scandal is still too fresh in people’s minds for him to attempt a comeback.

On the good news front, that has cleared the way for Eom Ki-joon to take the lead role for Golden Cross, yessssss. He is currently in the “favorably considering” stage so it’s not final, though some articles say that he is just about locked in. I love Eom Ki-joon—he gives his roles such groundedness and intensity—and think he’s much better than a lot of his projects have been (see: The Virus), so I’d love to see him taking the lead role in on a revenge melo. He’s currently at work on the stage musical Three Musketeers (he got his start in musical theater), which will open in March and will have performances in both Seoul and Tokyo.

I’d also love to see Eom Ki-joon paired with Lee Shi-young again, with whom he worked on the horror movie Killer Toon. I have no idea if they were good together because that movie’s promos creeped the hell out of me and I will never watch it, but I like them both so this is a good thing.

Golden Cross will begin filming in early March and premieres in April.

What’s the point in having a legal system when the public has been judge and jury in this matter. Since there was no conviction and due to the fact that the “victim” refused to press charges, no one “really” knows what happened between the two parties except them.

I’m sorry to hear that Park Shi-hoo won’t be doing this drama, but glad to know that he was able to continue working if not in Korea at least in China. As far as the scandal is concern, men lie and women lie everyday to further their own personal agenda. Park Shi-hoon isn’t the first nor will he be the last to be involved in sexual context such as this. Actors, singers, and athletes become easy targets for those wanting to be connected to them; seen with them; and hopefully be romantically involved with them. Lives have been ruined due to accusations made by “so called victims”. Unless one is tried and convicted of a crime, lets not persecute a person in a public forum until such time he or she if found guilty of that crime.

The fact that he could think of making a comeback so soon after a rape scandal makes me dislike Park Shihoo even more. MC Mong has been out of the spotlight for 4 years now even when he ended up being proven innocent. Joo Jihoon made a comeback after 3 years. Park Shihoo’s scandal is not even a year old.

Their is difference b/w accused and charged or convicted…. … The fact is She Dropped her case after her text-messages were made public and PROVED SHE WAS LYING!… … her own witness and best friend then said the girl was lying, along w/ other evidence….
Also, much circumstantial evidence emerged showing the Mr. Hwang the CEO of his ex-agency, Eyagi, set it up as revenge b/c PSH refused to renew his contract w/ him… In fact, the CEO of Eyagi, is also a member of CEMA (the organisation wanting to ban him) … ….
AND both the CEO of his ex-agency and CEMA are now under criminal investigation for money fraud, etc…

1.1.2 lemondoodleFebruary 28th, 2014 at 2:37 PM

The thing is even his side the story doesn’t paint him in a good light and and how he behaved afterwards (avoiding the police, media play, trashing the victim) only adds to people’s feeling of disgust with him.

Call me crazy, but even if he was convicted of the crime there would be people who say he was framed by a gold digger or the police were out to get him or that they ignored evidence. The fact that that the charges were dropped doesn’t let him off the hook and grant him instant forgiveness.

i agree, even his side doesn’t sound good. carrying a drunk girl on his back to his apartment and having sex with her???and there was another guy whose involvement is sketchy as hell
for me it is it isn’t sth that will be forgotten after some time
i was his fan and i loved princess’ man, i even endured alice drama for him but his rape accusations is a real deal breaker
it disgusts me to think he might be back and try to do a prince charming/honourable guy roles

If interested in facts not just gossip… You can read articles in Mwave, Soompi, AllKpop, etc….

After reading several articles, especially those written about 2-3 months after the incident, (when base-less gossip died down and more facts emerged from investigation)…I think you will start to believe he was just set-up and the accuser was lying….

Also, motives for the set-up…the more I read about CEO Hwang’s involvement and his statements, the more convinced I became of Park Si-Hoo’s innocence…

I am curious about this case (as well as the one involving Cha Seung-won’s son) and wonder if someone would enlighten me as to the Korean legal system re: charges of sexual assault. It seems, according to what I’ve read, that, if the accused and the accuser come to some kind of financial or other settlement, the charges will be dropped regardless of the evidence. Is this in fact true? Is there no separation between civil and criminal proceedings in such cases? Will the prosecutors’ decision to drop charges be influenced by the fact a settlement has been reached? Or will such decisions be made independently of these settlements?

If true, this is a system rife with the potential for abuse. A wealthy and powerful accused might very easily buy his way out of the situation but an unscrupulous accuser could use a he said/she said consensual versus non-consensual situation to extort money and never have these charges proven in a court of law. As a committed feminist, I believe women are not always victims but are very much capable of such slimy behaviour. We, as women, can’t, on the one hand, demand equal treatment but, on the other, see ourselves as always being victims. Sexual assault is a crime and should be treated as such in a court of law, not as something that can be made to “disappear” by the exchange of money.

Thanks for enlightening me on this. In my country, civil suits are often pursued in such cases and are more often than not settled out of court. But there is a presumption that accusers can be coerced or that the accused often just want to have the whole business go away even if they aren’t guilty. So prosecutors will make their judgement as to whether or not a crime has been committed and to bring charges based on the evidence and not according to a settlement. In a system where “the accused pays up and the charges are dropped” the only court left is the court of public opinion.

From what he said in his own words, he would have been convicted of rape in the US, but in Korea, he’s scott free, so, I’m unwilling to forgive him.

He said she was so drunk that she was falling over, but he still took her to his apartment and they had sex. Drunk (so can’t give proper consent)+sex in the US is rape. In Korea, apparently, it isn’t and rape laws are unclear in Korea.

From several testimonies she was so drunk she was falling over, even he said he had to carry her…. so yeah, US definition, that’s rape. Ability to give consent when sane of mind.

If she wants him in the morning *after* she’s sober, then it’s sketchier… but I don’t think so in this case. Everyone agrees he had sex with her while she was falling over drunk–even he does. *gag*

I have no idea whether PSH would have definitely been convicted of sexual assault in the US as I am not American. There seem to be conflicting reports as to how drunk she actually was. The Canadian and American legal systems are both based on British Common Law, however, and the first priority is the right of the accused to a fair trial by a jury of his or her peers. I’m not taking sides here at all. Everything is so muddy at this point I personally can’t make a judgement as to who is the real victim, PSH or the woman accusing him of rape.

What does amaze me, though, is how much evidentiary material was released to the press right from Day One by both sides. Transcripts of e-mails, medical records, interviews given to the press by key witnesses and so forth. This is exactly what is meant by being tried in the court of public opinion which is a pretty lousy place to be if you are accused of a crime like sexual assault.

My point is that, once the exchange of cash or kind becomes the deciding factor in whether or not a criminal case will proceed, the whole process becomes tainted. It does a disservice to both the accuser and the accused. Reputations are ruined for both.

1.1.3.3 rainrumaMay 5th, 2014 at 2:25 PM

Very true…. As a woman myself, I am upset w/ women who make false accusations b/c it hurts true victims….
I agree w/ you about the legal system that can make it easy for the rich to get away w/ it BUT ALSO make it so easy to accuse someone, just for financial gain…
HOWEVER…in the case of PSH, he counter-sued her and EVIDENCE emerged (her text-messages, witnesses, etc…) showing SHE WAS LYING so she dropped her case…
Also, the CEO of his ex-agency is involved in the set-up as punishment b/c Park Si-Hoo refused to renew his contract the agency and became independent…

I always wondered why lee si young is not that popular.
Her acting overall is okay, not bad but directors keep giving her supporting roles. Now she’s offered the lead, which is good. Si young looks, well young, I can’t believe she’s almost 32.

Had a 1-night stand w/ a girl (or so he thought). Next day, she accused him of raping her while she was drunk (she never gave him consent). Became a big media drama. Seriously, that was the most entertaining scandal I’ve seen on a Korean actor. Evidences from both sides were presented and at the end, he was charged for a type of rape.

He raped a young trainee and got off scot-free due to his wealth and power.He was charged for rape at one point but the victim suddenly decided to drop the charges,probably from being threatened or blackmailed by him. He also avoided going to court,failed the lie detector test and admitted to having sex with the victim when she was too drunk to consent,and there is also cctv footage of the girl being carried to his house on his friend’s back while she was unconscious.In short he is a rapist scumbag who shouldn’t be allowed on t.v for a very long time.

Speaking of Killer Toon, it was really scary, and I am still afraid to watch it again. But Lee Si Young & Eom Ki Joon were fantastic in there, so I am hoping Eom Ki Joon joins Golden Cross. Recently the revenge melos have been super awesome, Secret, The Full Sun, and now this…cool

They were great together in Killer Toon and I actually shipped them so much even if it was a horror movie which was almost a masterpiece(IMO) but got derailed by too much plot twists. The animations were awesome and the acting was fantastic.

It’s about time Eom Ki-joon got a lead role in one of the Big Three’s dramas! I still hold his performance as Poopy Seok in Scent of a Woman as his most endearing I think he can definitely pull of a revenge melo, and it’ll be a good match with Lee Shi-young.

But…I’m still on the fence as to whether I’d actually watch it — because of You’re All Surrounded. I might tune in for a few though.

I don’t think he’s replacing PSH. He is taking on a different role in the drama. As of now, the lead male is still undecided. Apparently KBS got tons of complaining calls and e-mails and had to reject PSH.

It did really seem like a test-the-waters thing. They really tried it, I have to say. But, I don’t really see him actually coming back, if I may be honest. Not for a long long while. And not after, like someone said, some kind of apology.

ANYWAY!! LOVE Eom Ki Joon and as I also didn’t watch Killer Toon (too scared, but I might in BROAD DAYLIGHT) I’d be glad if he took this on so I could watch them together.

I don’t think I have seen any of these actors before. And the last melodrama I saw was Secret but I couldn’t watch it all, skip like eight episodes. It was too much even though I liked the actors.
As for PSH I like his acting and am looking forward to his next drama.

That has got to be awkward as heck for PSH. Only time will tell whether he will be able to get back into the Korean public’s good graces or not. I have no idea what really went on in the whole case but I do confess that his actions throughout the time he was under fire were less than the best. Done, over. He hopefully has learnt a good moral lesson.

He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. Had he apologized as vehemently as what most people seem to suggest that he should have/be, it could have hinted at culpability and would have lingered over him as a ‘sign’ that, though he was acquitted, he was probably guilty.

Since he hasn’t given out the apology some people feel they need, he’s seen by the general public as a shady individual but by his fan base it serves as a reassurance he’s not guilty for whatever he was accused of.

Neither options are favorable for him but what he’s opted to go with suggests that he’s more concerned with pleasing his fans than he is the general public.

Regardless of it all it’s very clear he’s suffering immensely both personally and professionally, which (enter my bias) is a huge pity all the way around given how tremendously talented Park Shi Hoo is.